Monday, March 31, 2008
The Blahs
I'm reaching a definite burn-out point in my career. I feel like I want to take a different direction with it.
How to do that, I do not know. What 'that' is, I do not know.
All I know is that I am unsatisfied with the path I am on.
I am going to have to stick it out, though. I certainly can't afford a career change at this point.
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Thursday, March 27, 2008
Book Meme
Ganked from littlebittysami.
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that 'cool' or 'intellectual' book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag three people: You're all adults, you can either participate or not. Your choice.
Book: Paying the Piper by David Drake, the 9th and latest in his famous Hammer's Slammers series.
"What d'ye suppose is going on?"
"I'll let you know," Huber said as he swung his legs out of the fighting compartment and stood for a moment on the bulge of the plenum chamber. He gripped the frame of the bustle rack left-handed, then slid down the steel skirt with the skill of long practice.
And, of course, page 123 is 2 pages after the conflict, so no fun details of holographic targeting or copper-fed power guns or bodies being flayed by aforementioned power guns. Oh, well. If you're a sci-fi/military fan, any Hammer's Slammers book will do you good. As an uber-fan, I'll say, go visit David Drake's website and have a look-see.
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The Toons are Coming! (WoW)
Kurathan has finally reached 62 and Padaraeus has reached 23.
During my road trip to Oklahoma, I took Kurathan into Terrokar Forest and on to Shattrath City, which is much more gloomy than I had imagined. After my return home, I had him finish a quest, then subsequently grind up to 62.
Padaraeus has his profession skills now; Mining and Jewelcrafting. I've been running him around Azuremyst Island and Bloodmyst Island mining minerals and running him back and forth to the Exodar to up his jewelcrafting skills.
The 2.4 patch was enacted on Tuesday and has changed a few things about the interface. Not much has been nerfed, so I'm relatively pleased. The one thing I'm missing from the interface is the buffs next to the map. I don't see any options to bring those back. I relied on those buffs being there with their respective timers below them. I updated to X-Perl Unit Frames which is nice, but the buffs only show the timer if there are 20 seconds or less remaining. This means nothing when I'm trying to determine if I need to ask for buffs before entering an instance... Do I have 10 minutes remaining on Mark of the Wild or more?
Mary has complained now that I have my own PC. I've been running my toons around all the time. She said that we played together more when I didn't have my computer. Well, tonight, I've set my mind and we are scheduled to run our paired toons around. We have two pairs of horde toons.
First, was a planned pairing. We have matching blood elf hunters (Arothar and Neinna), both created at the same time. Second, I had created a blood elf priest (Celluth) some time ago and she created a troll rogue (ThePplsTroll) recently. We've power leveled her up and now, they are almost matched levels. I think hers is up to 23 and Celluth is up to 24. I want to get her toon to 25 tonight. That should also push Celluth to 25.
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Monday, March 24, 2008
Labor of Love
Network Fun
I did finally get the slow internet fixed. I remembered an issue recently involving the DNS entries in the router.
When I checked the router, I found that the entries had been wiped. I found the correct addresses on AT&T's support site, and it works smoothly now.
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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
I Caught My Break
You read the title correct; I caught my break... Mostly.
After the FedEx incident, I was resolved to waiting until Wednesday to get everything and barely being able to do anything before leaving on the road trip on Thursday.
When I arrived to pick up the package at its delivery destination, I was pleasantly surprised to find that both boxes were there.
I quickly took them home and began assembling. The assembly took around three hours. The only thing I wasn't pleased with was there was no case sticker for the OCZ memory and no case sticker for the NVidia GPU. I got the stickers for AMD and ASUS.
I only have one real issue with the whole setup. I'm having some weird DNS issue. Sometimes, domains get resolved quickly, other times, they just don't get resolved at all. I thought it might have been the onboard LAN, so I installed a NIC I had. Same problem. I thought it might have been a driver issue, so I connected my old primary HD and booted into my old Vista install. Same issue. At the same time, Mary's computer was having no problems connecting.
First, I will try a power cycle. Shut everything on the network off, give it a minute, then power back on. If that does not work, I will try reserved IP addresses. It THAT does not work, I will try static IP addresses.
In the midst of updating Vista, I realised I did not have my World of Warcraft CDs; they were in Mary's office downtown. I figured I'd just download the 10-day trial and just do updates from there. Doesn't work that way. The trial is a completely different program from the retail version. So, after sitting waiting for the download of the trial version, I had to uninstall it.
I thought I had read somewhere, in my search for stand-alone games to put on my thumb drive, that World of Warcraft did not require an installation. On that whim, I connected to Mary's computer through the network and copied her WoW folder over. It worked! The best thing about this method is that all my add-ons were already there and all my settings.
I played for a while before finally heading off to bed.
All in all, it's a smokin' system. Quite an upgrade.
Old System:
AMD Athlon (1.2 GHz)
2x1 GB (2 GB) Generic DDR 400 RAM
160 GB Hitachi Ultra ATA133 IDE HD
EVGA NVidia GeForce 6200LE 128MB Video
AC97 Stereo Audio
New System:
AMD Athlon 64 x2 4800+ (2.5 GHz)
2x1 GB (2 GB) OCZ DDR2 800 Dual Channel RAM
160 GB Maxtor SATA 3.0GB/s HD
ECS NVidia GeForce 7600GS 256MB Video
RealTek HD 8-Channel Audio
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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Just Can't Catch a Break
After talking with the FedEx rep on the phone yesterday morning, I put a hold on the packages and was scheduled to pick them up yeterday evening on my way home from work. I stopped by the FedEx location at the top of the peak of happiness. That was quickly remedied.
After arriving and giving the desk rep my tracking numbers with a giant smile on my face, I was informed that he would not be able to give me my packages.
'Why?' you ask. Because non-priority packages are not sorted until day of delivery. I asked him if the packages were going to be delivered on their respective days. He said they would.
I asked him if the hold would have any bearing on that, wondering if the hold meant anything at all, then. He checked and seemed surprised that they were on hold, despite JUST looking up the package information.
It's a good thing I asked about the hold. Otherwise, I would end up with no packages delivered, upset.
So, here I sit. At work. With no PC at home. Waiting for two packages to be delivered; one today, one tomorrow.
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Monday, March 17, 2008
Is That a Wand in Your Pocket...? (WoW)
I've really been spending a lot of time leveling my new Draenai mage, Padaraeus. I've got him up to level 19... and a half. I'm very eager to level him to 20, so I can get that Teleport: Exodar spell. Then, I can go around to other Alliance capitals and pick up their respective teleport spells.
He's coming along quite well, excepting that he's running out of quests he can solo on Bloodmyst Isle. I DO want him to finish all of them there, which should not be a big problem.
Although, he has already picked up a bunch of lower level quests in Auberdine for Darkshore. I may just send him there to quest for a while until he gains another two or three levels.
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Nearly Final Computer Update
I checked on my computer parts shipments this morning just to make sure I was still looking at Tuesday for the delivery date.
I was not looking at Tuesday for the delivery date. Well, not technically. The case was shipped separately from the parts. The case was still slated for delivery Tuesday, but the parts, not until Wednesday. Since I'll be preparing for a road trip, I did NOT enjoy seeing that Wednesday delivery date.
Upon further investigation, I discovered that both packages just arrived at the Kansas City center early this morning. I quickly called FedEx to see if I could just go pick them up. They sent the note and said I could go by today and pick up my packages. I don't even have to take off early from work, they are open until 8:30pm.
Before dawn Tuesday, I'll be up and running. :-)
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Friday, March 14, 2008
New Computer Update
I checked the FedEx tracking information this morning. Looks like my packages were picked up from the warehouse last night. ETA: Tuesday, March 18 by 4:30.
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Meme
(ganked from dungeon_grrrl's LiveJournal)
(double posted here and LJ)
I have done [75] of the following:
[1] I have read a lot of books.
[] I have been on some sort of varsity team.
[] I have run more than 2 miles without stopping.
[] I have been to Canada.
[] I have been to Europe.
[2] I have watched cartoons for hours.
[3] I have tripped UP the stairs.
[] I have fallen down an entire flight of stairs.
[] I have been snowboarding/skiing.
[4] I have played ping pong.
[5] I swam in the ocean.
[6] I have been on a whale watch.
[7] I have seen fireworks.
[8] I have seen a shooting star.
[9] I have seen a meteor shower.
[10] I have almost drowned.
[11] I have been so embarrassed I wanted to disappear.
[12] I have listened to one CD over and over and over again.
[] I have had stitches.
[] I have had frostbite.
[] I have licked a frozen pole and got stuck there.
[13] I have stayed up til 2 doing homework/projects.
[14] I currently have a job.
[] I have been ice skating.
[] I have been rollerblading.
[] I have fallen flat on my face.
[15] I have tripped over my own two feet.
[]I have been in a fist fight.
[16] I have played videogames for more than 3 hours straight.
[] I have watched the Power Rangers.
[] I attend Church regularly.
[17] I have played truth or dare.
[18] I have already had my 16th birthday.
[19] I have already had my 18th birthday.
[20] I've called someone stupid.
[21] I've been in a verbal argument.
[22] I've cried in school.
[] I've played basketball on a team.
[] I've played baseball on a team.
[] I've played football on a team.
[] I've played soccer on a team.
[] I've done cheerleading on a team.
[] I've played softball on a team.
[] I've played volleyball on a team.
[] I've played tennis on a team.
[] I've been in the marching band.
[23] I've been swimming more than 20 times in my life.
[] I've bungee jumped.
[] I've climbed a rock wall.
[24] I've lost more than $20.
[25] I've called myself an idiot.
[26] I've called someone else an idiot.
[27] I've cried myself to sleep.
[28] I've had (or have) pets.
[] I've owned a spice girls CD.
[29] I've owned a britney spears CD.
[] I've owned an N*Sync CD.
[30] I've owned a backstreet boys CD.
[] I've mooned someone.
[] I have sworn at someone of authority before.
[] I've been in the newspaper.
[] I've been on TV.
[] I've been to Hawaii.
[31] I've eaten sushi.
[] I've been on the other side of a waterfall.
[32] I've watched all of the Lord of the Rings movies.
[] I've watched all the Harry Potter movies.
[] I've watched all of the Rocky movies.
[] I've watched the 3 stooges.
[] I've watched "Newlyweds" Nick & Jessica.
[33] I've watched Looney Tunes.
[] I've been stuffed into a locker/I have stuffed others into lockers.
[34] I've been called a geek.
[35] I've studied hard for a test and got a bad grade.
[36] I've not studied at all for a test and aced it.
[] I've hugged my mom within the past 24 hrs.
[] I've hugged my dad within the past 24 hours.
[37] I've met a celebrity/music artist.
[] I've written poetry.
[] I've been arrested.
[38] I've been attracted to someone much older than me.
[39] I've been tickled till I've cried.
[] I've tickled someone else until they cried.
[40] I've had/have siblings.
[41] I've been to a rock concert.
[42] I've listened to classical music and enjoyed it.
[] I've been in a play.
[43] I've been picked last in gym class.
[] I've been picked first in gym class.
[] I've been picked in that middle-range in gym class.
[44] I've cried in front of my friends.
[] I've read a book longer than 1,000 pages
[] I've played Halo 2.
[] I've freaked out over a sports game.
[] I've been to Alaska.
[] I've been to China.
[] I've been to Spain.
[] I've been to Japan.
[] I've had a fight with someone on AIM.
[45] I've had a fight with someone face-to-face.
[46] I've had serious conversations on any IM.
[47] I've forgiven someone who has done something wrong to me.
[48] I've been forgiven.
[] I've screamed at a scary movie.
[49] I've cried at a chick flick.
[50] I've watched a lot of action movies.
[] I've screamed at the top of my lungs.
[] I've been to a rap concert.
[] I've been to a hip hop concert.
[51] I've lived in more than 2 houses.
[52] I've driven on the highway/been on the highway.
[53] I've driven more than 40 miles in a day/been in a car that went more than 40 miles in a day.
[54] I've been in a car accident.
[] I've done drugs.
[55] I've been homesick.
[56] I've thrown up.
[57] I've puked on someone.
[58] I've been horseback riding.
[] I've filled out more than 10 myspace surveys.
[59] I've spoken my mind in public.
[60] I've proved someone wrong.
[61] I've been proven wrong by someone.
[] I've broken a leg.
[] I've broken an arm or a finger.
[62] I've fallen off a swing.
[63] I've swung on a swing for more than 30 minutes straight
[64] I've watched Winnie the Pooh movies.
[] I've forgotten my backpack when I've gone to school.
[] I've lost my backpack.
[] I've come close to dying.
[65] I've seen someone die.
[66] I've known someone who has died.
[] I've wanted to be an actor/actress at some point.
[] I've done modeling.
[67] I've forgotten to brush my teeth some mornings.
[68] I've taken something/someone for granted.
[] I've realized how good my life is.
[] I've counted my blessings.
[69] I've made fun of a classmate.
[70] I've been asked out by someone and I said no.
[] I've slapped someone in the face.
[] I've been skateboarding.
[71] I've been backstabbed by someone I thought was a friend.
[72] I've lied to someone to their face.
[73] I've told a little white lie.
[] I've taken a day off from school just so I don't go insane.
[] I've fainted.
[] I've had an argument with someone about whether cheerleading is a sport or not.
[] I've pushed someone into a pool.
[74] I've been pushed into a pool.
[75] I've been/am in love.
[] I have had sex in public.
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Thursday, March 13, 2008
Fresh Set of Eyes
I've been working on a major project at work for a long time now. So long, in fact, that I'm experiencing some level of burn out.
Recently, I had a presentation to make on the progress. There was one portion of the software that was just not working as I thought it should.
A window (for you VB.NET programmers, it is actually a panel on a tabpage) starts hidden and disabled. The user clicks a button on the main form which disables everything on the form, enables the new window and makes the new window visible. Well, it was becoming enabled, but was not becoming visible. In fact, I could interact with it by tabbing to the various buttons and pressing the space bar to activate the buttons. However, if I started the window VISIBLE and disabled, it worked just fine.
I struggled with this issue through an extended evening and an early morning before the presentation. In the end, I just had an ugly workaround of starting visible.
That afternoon, Mary came to see me and pick me up from work. In explaining the issue to her, she made what seemed to be a simple suggestion of changing where the window is located (nerds: read 'new parent container'). It worked. Nice.
Thanks, Honey. :-)
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A Horse is a Horse, Of Course, Of Course (WoW)
I can't believe I forgot to post!
Kurathan now has his level 60 mount. A glorious purple undead horse. Decked out in all kinds of beautiful decking out stuff. I'll post a picture soon.
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Pinch Caster (WoW)
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I've gotten rid of my Draenai shaman. In the end, I just decided that I was not pleased with the class. I ended up replacing my mage, also with Draenai. Over the course of the weekend up until today, I've gotten him, Padaraeus, up to level 11. I already knew I'd enjoy the mage class, and I am.
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NEW COMPUTER!!!
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I ORDERED THE PARTS FOR MY REPLACEMENT COMPUTER TODAY!!!!!
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Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Reading for Dummies
As a developer for the company I work for, I get to interact with many of the other department's employees. The project I am working on now is very large, but is limited to one particular department. There are a few key people that I keep in contact with and have a recurring meeting with every other week. Our company uses Outlook in conjunction with Exchange Server. Therefore, our calendars are handled by Exchange Server. When I schedule a meeting and send out an invite, Exchange automatically adds that meeting to the individual calendars. Keep this in mind.
The next scheduled meeting was for tomorrow. I decided that I wanted to focus on a particular portion of the project which would require them to gather their thoughts before the meeting. Rather than throw this change of direction on them with less than 24 hours to prepare, I rescheduled the meeting for the following week.
When I sent the meeting reschedule, I mentioned specifically that it was a reschedule. Everyone accepted the invite. Keep this also in mind.
I received a reply from a woman whom I have gauged as a fairly intelligent person. Quite above average, I would say. However, I was completely baffled by her reply.
"So, is [the meeting] cancelled for tomorrow?"
???
WTF?
Did she even read the email? Does she understand the word reschedule? Did she even bother to look at her calendar which has automatically moved the meeting to the next week?
"A slip," you say. This is not the first time this has happened. It seems like any time I make some kind of change to the meeting or to a part of the project, I get some ridiculous, oblivious reply from this woman.
Look. I understand. I do not work in your department and may seem quite low on the importance totem pole, but for Pete's sake... Read the #!%& email!! Pay attention!! Quit asking stupid questions!!
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Monday, March 03, 2008
Burlesque 2
I attended my second burlesque show Sunday evening.
I'm really beginning to enjoy the variety offered by this type of show. Last night featured, of course, half naked girls, but it also had comedians, singers, a juggler, and a silent magician.
The best part was that Mary and I attended with a few friends. Always nice to have a night out with friends.
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Three Girls, a Guy, and a Limo
Let me tell you about the photoshoot this weekend.
Mary had a great idea of using a limo with three to four girls and a guy or two. They would be portrayed as just kids having fun.
First, on Friday afternoon, we headed over to a local photography establishment to rent some equipment. An awesome lens and a professional light kit. Got it home and realized the lights wouldn't work with Mary's camera. Just needed a tiny piece that the store would not charge us to use. But they were closed.
So, Saturday morning, we go back downtown to get this little adapter from the store, which closes at noon. We had a quick lunch and headed back to the northland to meet the limo driver in the afternoon so we could have a look at the limo that was going to be used in the shoot.
On a whim, Mary wanted to check out the location to make sure it was still going to work for the shoot. The location is northeast of KCI airport along an access road. We head out there only to find out the place is a mud pit. Absolutely horrible.
We spent the next two hours scouting around at other locations she had in mind. We checked a park in the small town of Parkville and a park in the northland called Water Works Park. Mary decided on Water work, since it has a great view of the downtown Kansas City skyline.
After all the running around, we head over to Mary's photography office to play with the lights to make sure we know how they work. She checks email.
(This is where it all falls apart.)
Turns out that two of the girls and the guy cancelled. That leaves one girl. Mary calls the make-up artist and the limo driver to cancel the shoot.
Not so bad, you say? The lens and light kit cost $125 to rent for the weekend. We get the emails on Saturday afternoon. The store closed at noon and won't open again until Monday morning, when we are scheduled to return the equipment.
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Saturday, March 01, 2008
Bike Pic
So, I finally got the picture up. Sue me. :-)
(Click for larger image)
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